The Authority of God -- Mark 1:21-34
The Authority of God -- Mark 1:21-34
By Pastor Lee Hemen
August 30, 2009 AM
There are people who claim authority, want authority, think they have authority, those who need authority, and those who neglect or disrespect authority but what exactly is authority? As someone, a long time ago, quipped, “Authority is earned, not demanded.” Those who have it know how to exercise it in a way that results in respect, devotion, and an immediate response. Then there are those who are born with authority who have done well with the mantle laid on them while others have used their authority to subjugate those around them. While human beings can and often do misuse the authority given them, God never does.
Recently, the passing of a prominent Senator reminds us that no matter where you come from nor what you try to do, who you are and what you did in life matters. You can misuse the authority you are born into to cover up immoral and illegal conduct. Sadly, money or family contacts can often buy immunity from justice. Jesus was born into a family hand-picked by God Himself. His parentage and heritage was premiere, however, Jesus never misused His authority or His family connections. Here in these verses of Mark we discover Jesus using the authority of God because He is God. We discover what it meant for Jesus to have the authority He was born with and what it meant for His ministry here on earth. Let’s discover the authority of Jesus…
READ: Mark 1:21-34
There is a lot of misunderstanding concerning the spiritual realm. This is no surprise because we live in an age where people think they can makeup their own individual spirituality as it suits them. Some folks give Satan more power and authority than he actually has. This comes from a heretical view that God and Satan are equals, they are not. Satan is a created being and under the total authority of God, his Creator. Then, there are those who try to deny his existence. Mark shows us immediately the power and authority of Jesus because of who He is. We discover the authority of Jesus…
I. Over the spiritual realm! (vv. 21-27)
1. Satan’s ploys are no match for the Savior’s power! While Jesus was born in Bethlehem, His center for ministry became Capernaum. This was the disciple’s “home town” so-to-speak. Peter and Andrew lived there. Jesus begins His day of worship at the local synagogue. “The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.” Probably by using His parables or earthy stories that touched the lives of the local populace instead of using high sounding religious arguments that the “teachers of the law” loved to use. Suddenly, a man has an outburst that is simply caused by Jesus’ presence. He “was possessed by an evil spirit and cried out, ‘What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!’” Evil cannot exist where holiness resides, and a brief confrontation ensues that confounds the people there. Jesus uses a few simple commands: “Be quiet!” and “Come out of him!” As a result the man immediately begins to shake violently and the evil spirit comes out of him. The authority of Jesus is both dramatic and complete. The spirit was forced to submit to Him, the Holy One of God. “The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, ‘What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him.’” Thus was Jesus’ authority over the spiritual realm displayed that day. It declared two things about Jesus’ authority: 1) It comes from who He is the Holy One of God, the Messiah, the Son of God in human flesh, and 2) it was done with complete control. No dramatic breathing, religious incantations, handkerchiefs, or theatric display. Just God in complete control over the spiritual realm.
EXAMPLE: One of the most tragic tales from WWII is Operation Tiger. It was a training exercise in amphibious beach landings in preparation for the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Suddenly, enemy gunboats appeared and killed over 700 American servicemen in a surprise attack. Today, a monument stands to commemorate the sacrifice of those young men who died while training for battle but were never able to enter the conflict. It is a good example on how the Christian is in a constant battle that never lets up that is against an enemy that is both powerful and deceptive. And although Satan has lost his dominion, he still tries to deceive those who want to follow God. It is therefore good to know that we have a Savior who has complete authority in the spiritual realm.
Within the past several months there has been a lot of discussion concerning Governmental controlled health care. As Americans if we have not learned anything from the past 233 years it should be to distrust the Government control of anything in our lives. It will result in not only trillions of dollars of national debt, a myriad of Government-controlled bureaucracies that will never go away, but it will also demand more taxation. This is a good example of authority gone amuck. Even the Lord would not want people subjected to this kind of governmental slavery. Jesus never uses His authority to subjugate anyone. Not even the man with the evil spirit. The spirit yes, the man no. We are free come to Him by faith. However, Jesus did have complete authority over sickness and disease, the weather, and life and death. In fact, we learn in Mark, the authority of Jesus…
II. Over the physical realm! (vv. 28-34)
1. Jesus controls what He created! “News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.” They immediately head to the home of Simon Peter and Andrew with James and John tagging along. The common place was and is where Jesus resides. Cleansing evil spirits from people while important, we discover that for plain folks, disease was a common occurrence and could be a matter of life or death. What we would consider now as a simple cold, could be devastating back then. They had no CDC to come up with a vaccine and people died from what we would consider common illness. Disease was also often equated with evil. To be sick was to be unclean. We find “Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her.” After seeing what Jesus did with a demon-possessed man, perhaps they thought He could more than handle a mother-in-law’s illness? I love watching Jesus in action and Mark makes it seem so beautifully simple. Out of context to the culture concerning illness and being with a woman not his own mother or wife, Jesus goes to where she is, lovingly takes her by the hand, helps her up, and she is healed. No fancy words, again no religious incantations, and the fever leaves her and she is made completely well. How do we know that to be true? She begins to wait on them right away. The authority of Jesus over the physical realm is discovered in the home of a mother-in-law of common fisher folk. Giving back the life of one demon-possessed tells us of Jesus’ authority over the spiritual realm, and His healing of Simon’s mother-in-law dramatically shows us Jesus’ authority over the physical realm as well.
EXAMPLE: Joanie Yoder of the Radio Bible Class online has written that “Most Christians would prefer to see God perform mighty miracles rather than to have fellowship with Him and learn His ways.” She is correct. Folks often get excited and want to read about Jesus confronting demons, Satan, or the occasional demoniac, but few find the same excitement in discovering that Jesus has complete authority in the physical realm as well. Believe me, Peter’s mother-in-law was glad to discover that Jesus could heal her. As Yoder writes, “If you desire to know God personally more than you long to see His mighty miracles, you'll be satisfied.” Find Jesus’ authority in your life, both in the physical and spiritual realms by coming to know Him.
Conclusion:
Where cynicism once grew, hope and optimism can begin to emerge. Where sarcasm thrived, gentle words of healing can appear. Where lust grew rampant and unrestrained, pure love can spring up. This—a transformed life—is the living and lasting sign of God's miraculous power. There are moments when we grow tired of the evil within us, and our heart aches for holiness. There are times when we need the physical touch of God in our lives. When this occurs, this is God calling, reminding us that He is near. We discovered the authority of Jesus over both the spiritual and physical realms when we come to Jesus.
----
This article is copyrighted © 2009 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission. You now have my permission to use the entire article.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
August 30, 2009 AM
There are people who claim authority, want authority, think they have authority, those who need authority, and those who neglect or disrespect authority but what exactly is authority? As someone, a long time ago, quipped, “Authority is earned, not demanded.” Those who have it know how to exercise it in a way that results in respect, devotion, and an immediate response. Then there are those who are born with authority who have done well with the mantle laid on them while others have used their authority to subjugate those around them. While human beings can and often do misuse the authority given them, God never does.
Recently, the passing of a prominent Senator reminds us that no matter where you come from nor what you try to do, who you are and what you did in life matters. You can misuse the authority you are born into to cover up immoral and illegal conduct. Sadly, money or family contacts can often buy immunity from justice. Jesus was born into a family hand-picked by God Himself. His parentage and heritage was premiere, however, Jesus never misused His authority or His family connections. Here in these verses of Mark we discover Jesus using the authority of God because He is God. We discover what it meant for Jesus to have the authority He was born with and what it meant for His ministry here on earth. Let’s discover the authority of Jesus…
READ: Mark 1:21-34
There is a lot of misunderstanding concerning the spiritual realm. This is no surprise because we live in an age where people think they can makeup their own individual spirituality as it suits them. Some folks give Satan more power and authority than he actually has. This comes from a heretical view that God and Satan are equals, they are not. Satan is a created being and under the total authority of God, his Creator. Then, there are those who try to deny his existence. Mark shows us immediately the power and authority of Jesus because of who He is. We discover the authority of Jesus…
I. Over the spiritual realm! (vv. 21-27)
1. Satan’s ploys are no match for the Savior’s power! While Jesus was born in Bethlehem, His center for ministry became Capernaum. This was the disciple’s “home town” so-to-speak. Peter and Andrew lived there. Jesus begins His day of worship at the local synagogue. “The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.” Probably by using His parables or earthy stories that touched the lives of the local populace instead of using high sounding religious arguments that the “teachers of the law” loved to use. Suddenly, a man has an outburst that is simply caused by Jesus’ presence. He “was possessed by an evil spirit and cried out, ‘What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!’” Evil cannot exist where holiness resides, and a brief confrontation ensues that confounds the people there. Jesus uses a few simple commands: “Be quiet!” and “Come out of him!” As a result the man immediately begins to shake violently and the evil spirit comes out of him. The authority of Jesus is both dramatic and complete. The spirit was forced to submit to Him, the Holy One of God. “The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, ‘What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him.’” Thus was Jesus’ authority over the spiritual realm displayed that day. It declared two things about Jesus’ authority: 1) It comes from who He is the Holy One of God, the Messiah, the Son of God in human flesh, and 2) it was done with complete control. No dramatic breathing, religious incantations, handkerchiefs, or theatric display. Just God in complete control over the spiritual realm.
EXAMPLE: One of the most tragic tales from WWII is Operation Tiger. It was a training exercise in amphibious beach landings in preparation for the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Suddenly, enemy gunboats appeared and killed over 700 American servicemen in a surprise attack. Today, a monument stands to commemorate the sacrifice of those young men who died while training for battle but were never able to enter the conflict. It is a good example on how the Christian is in a constant battle that never lets up that is against an enemy that is both powerful and deceptive. And although Satan has lost his dominion, he still tries to deceive those who want to follow God. It is therefore good to know that we have a Savior who has complete authority in the spiritual realm.
Within the past several months there has been a lot of discussion concerning Governmental controlled health care. As Americans if we have not learned anything from the past 233 years it should be to distrust the Government control of anything in our lives. It will result in not only trillions of dollars of national debt, a myriad of Government-controlled bureaucracies that will never go away, but it will also demand more taxation. This is a good example of authority gone amuck. Even the Lord would not want people subjected to this kind of governmental slavery. Jesus never uses His authority to subjugate anyone. Not even the man with the evil spirit. The spirit yes, the man no. We are free come to Him by faith. However, Jesus did have complete authority over sickness and disease, the weather, and life and death. In fact, we learn in Mark, the authority of Jesus…
II. Over the physical realm! (vv. 28-34)
1. Jesus controls what He created! “News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.” They immediately head to the home of Simon Peter and Andrew with James and John tagging along. The common place was and is where Jesus resides. Cleansing evil spirits from people while important, we discover that for plain folks, disease was a common occurrence and could be a matter of life or death. What we would consider now as a simple cold, could be devastating back then. They had no CDC to come up with a vaccine and people died from what we would consider common illness. Disease was also often equated with evil. To be sick was to be unclean. We find “Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her.” After seeing what Jesus did with a demon-possessed man, perhaps they thought He could more than handle a mother-in-law’s illness? I love watching Jesus in action and Mark makes it seem so beautifully simple. Out of context to the culture concerning illness and being with a woman not his own mother or wife, Jesus goes to where she is, lovingly takes her by the hand, helps her up, and she is healed. No fancy words, again no religious incantations, and the fever leaves her and she is made completely well. How do we know that to be true? She begins to wait on them right away. The authority of Jesus over the physical realm is discovered in the home of a mother-in-law of common fisher folk. Giving back the life of one demon-possessed tells us of Jesus’ authority over the spiritual realm, and His healing of Simon’s mother-in-law dramatically shows us Jesus’ authority over the physical realm as well.
EXAMPLE: Joanie Yoder of the Radio Bible Class online has written that “Most Christians would prefer to see God perform mighty miracles rather than to have fellowship with Him and learn His ways.” She is correct. Folks often get excited and want to read about Jesus confronting demons, Satan, or the occasional demoniac, but few find the same excitement in discovering that Jesus has complete authority in the physical realm as well. Believe me, Peter’s mother-in-law was glad to discover that Jesus could heal her. As Yoder writes, “If you desire to know God personally more than you long to see His mighty miracles, you'll be satisfied.” Find Jesus’ authority in your life, both in the physical and spiritual realms by coming to know Him.
Conclusion:
Where cynicism once grew, hope and optimism can begin to emerge. Where sarcasm thrived, gentle words of healing can appear. Where lust grew rampant and unrestrained, pure love can spring up. This—a transformed life—is the living and lasting sign of God's miraculous power. There are moments when we grow tired of the evil within us, and our heart aches for holiness. There are times when we need the physical touch of God in our lives. When this occurs, this is God calling, reminding us that He is near. We discovered the authority of Jesus over both the spiritual and physical realms when we come to Jesus.
----
This article is copyrighted © 2009 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission. You now have my permission to use the entire article.
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